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Áine Regan

Research Officer

Research Interests

Áine Regan works as a Research Officer in Behavioural & Social Science with Teagasc. She works in the areas of behaviour change, and science and risk governance in the agri-food sector. Aine has a Masters in Health Psychology and a PhD specialising in risk communication in food and agriculture. Áine previously worked in UCD and the University of Ottawa in Canada before joining Teagasc in 2015. Research areas include:

  • Design and governance of digital technologies in the agri-food sector
  • OneHealth and antimicrobial resistance in agriculture
  • Public perception of food and farming and related consumer behaviour

Current Projects

  • ENTRUST: Next Generation of Trustworthy Agri-Data Management. Funded by EU Horizon. (2023-2027).
  • BioSecure: Enhanced and cost-effective biosecurity in livestock production. Funded by EU Horizon. (2023-2027).
  • ENFASYS: ENcouraging Farmers towards sustainable farming SYstems through policy and business Strategies. Funded by EU Horizon. (2022-2026).
  • VistaMilk SFI Research Centre. Funded by Science Foundation Ireland. (2022-2024).
  • AMU-FARM: Antimicrobial use on farms: a multi-actor, user-centered approach to measuring and changing behaviour. Funded by Teagasc and Animal Health Ireland. (2021-2025).
  • Smart Farming in Ireland: a user-centred approach to understanding farmers’ engagement with digital technologies. Funded by Teagasc. (2020-2024).
  • FAIRshare: Farm Advisory digital Innovation tools Realised and Shared. Funded by EU H2020 (2018-2023).

Education

2010-2014: PhD, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Population Science, University College Dublin

2009-2010: MSc Health Psychology, NUI Galway

2006-2009: BA (Hons.) Psychology, NUI Galway

  • Hyland, J., Regan, Á., Sweeney, S., McKernan, C., Benson, T., & Dean, M. (2022). Consumers Attitudes toward Animal Welfare Friendly Produce: An Island of Ireland Study. Frontiers in Animal Science. 3:930930.
  • Regan, Á. & Kenny, U. (2022). What do the public want to know about farming and why? Findings from a farmer-initiated public consultation exercise in Ireland. Sustainability, 14(9): 5391.
  • Fielke, S., Bronson, K., Carolan, M., Eastwood, C., Higgins, V., Jakku, E., Klerkx, L., Nettle, R., Regan, Á., Rose, D.C., Townsend, L.C. and Wolf, S.A. (2022). A call to expand disciplinary boundaries so that social scientific imagination and practice are central to quests for ‘responsible’ digital agri-food innovation. Sociologia Ruralis, 62: 151-161.
  • Henchion, M., Regan, Á., Beecher, M., & Macken-Walsh, Á. (2022). Developing ‘Smart’ Dairy Farming Responsive to Farmers and Consumer-Citizens: A Review. Animals, 12(3), 360.
  • Sweeney, S., Regan, Á., McKernan, C., Benson, T., Hanlon, A., & Dean, M. (2022) Current consumer perceptions of animal welfare across different farming sectors on the island of Ireland. Animals, 12(2):185.
  • Ehlers, M., Finger, R., El-benni, N., Gocht, A., Sørensen, C., Gusset, M., Pfeifer C., Poppe, K. J., Regan, Á., Rose, D., Wolfert, S., and Huber, R. (2022). Scenarios for agricultural policy in the era of digitalisation. Agricultural Systems, 196:
  • Ingram, J., Maye, D., Bailye, C. et al. (2022). What are the Priority Research Questions for Digital Agriculture? Land Use Policy, 114: 105962.
  • Huey, S., Kavanagh, M., Regan, Á., Dean, M., McKernan, C., McCoy, F., Ryan, E., Caballero-Villalobos, J., & McAloon, C. (2021). Engaging with selective dry cow therapy: understanding the barriers and facilitators perceived by Irish farmers. Irish Veterinary Journal, 74:
  • Regan, Á., Sweeney, S., McKernan, C., Benson, T., Hyland, J., & Dean, M. (2021). The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Food Consumers' Awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance, OneHealth, and Animal Welfare Information on Food Labels. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8:
  • Regan, Á., Clifford, S., Burrell, A.M.G., Balaine, L., & Dillon, E. (2021). Exploring the relationship between mastitis risk perception and farmers’ readiness to engage in milk recording. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 193:
  • Kenny, U., Hearne, D., O’Meara, C., & Regan, Á. (2021). Empathising, Defining and Ideating with the farming community to develop a geotagged photo app for smart devices: A Design Thinking Approach. Agricultural Systems, 194:
  • Regan, Á. (2021). Exploring the readiness of publicly funded researchers to practice responsible research and innovation in digital agriculture. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 8(1): 28-47.
  • Kenny, U. & Regan, Á. (2021). Co-designing a smartphone app for and with farmers: Empathising with end users’ values and needs. Journal of Rural Studies, 82, 148-160. 
  • Regan, Á., Douglas, J., Maher, J., & O’Dwyer, T. (2021). Exploring farmers’ decisions to engage in grass measurement on dairy farms in Ireland. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 27(3): 355-380.